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they are clothed from the works of their hands" the diligent man being clothed from the works of his own hands, so that he speaks boldly and with thanksgiving: "my soul shall rejoice in the Lord; for he has clothed me with the garment of salvation;" which garment Paul commands us to put on, saying: "put on bowels of mercy" and what follows. And again: "Put on the Lord Jesus Christ." This garment is not a spider's web; for it is incorruptibility and for this reason it abides; but the [web] of the wicked is unsubstantial; for it is evil. Wherefore it is said: "his sin shall be sought, and shall not 223 be found because of itself;" for it is like a spider's web ······ ··· being dissolved; wherefore he also has a tent, but not a house like the one who keeps the words of Jesus. If he shall lean upon his house, it shall not stand. The ungodly man, then; but whoever with elegance and a not good plausibility establishes the houses of deceit, this man, being refuted by the truth, shall not stand, so that his deceit cannot even have a standing. And if one lays hold of it, it will not endure. For the device of the wicked, called a tent, falling down, is most easily captured in this way, so that it does not even seem to have ever existed. For he is moist under the sun, and out of his rottenness his branch shall come forth. He suggests that the life of the ungodly man is something spongy, as being dissolved by a little heat. But one must not be surprised if he is said to be "moist under the sun"; for there are things which are dissolved by the sun, like wax, and also by fire. So, then, shall the ungodly man be. For it is said: "As wax melts before the face of fire, so let the sinners perish from the face of God." But being moistened by the "sun"—not the one "of righteousness," but that one of which it is said: "by day the sun shall not burn you"—he puts forth a branch sprouting from evil and rottenness, becoming "under that" "planting which the Father did not plant, 224 which will also be rooted up." He sleeps upon a heap of stones, and he will live in the midst of pebbles. This he says, that the ungodly man wishes to be an adversary of God and an antichrist. For God and Christ dwell in a temple, according to what is said: "Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" And again it is said: "If anyone loves me, I and the Father will come and make our home with him;" "For we are the house of Christ, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing firm to the end." But a house is a composition of stones according to art, having union with others; such is virtue and purity and the very participation in the one. But the heap of stones and the mixture of pebbles is something scattered, similar to evil which has no union, but disorder. The ungodly man, therefore, has his entire conduct in a house of evil, being dissolved like the stones outside a building, which do not fit into "the building of the tower" according to the Shepherd. If it should swallow him down, his place will deny him. Even if we should apply his words, as many as are ready at hand, to the thoughts of which those spoken by the diligent are near, we must not be surprised. For he said: "Inquire of the former generation, and search out the generation of the fathers," 225 as having himself learned from them; and he does not at all preserve his reasonings because of his not thinking that one falls into grievous things except through sin. The word "swallow down," therefore, is often taken in Scripture for victory, as in this: "Israel is swallowed up; he has become among the nations as a useless vessel," that is, he has been conquered. And again: "when men rose up against us, then they would have swallowed us up alive;" and again: "that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life." It is said therefore also concerning the sophists and those who advocate for the "wisdom of this age" and its "rulers": "their mighty men were swallowed up clinging to a rock;" what rock indeed but Christ? "For the rock was Christ." So also "Aaron's rod swallowed up the rods of the Egyptian magicians," it being shown symbolically that "the falsely named

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περιβάλλωνται ἀπὸ τῶν ἔργων τῶν χειρῶν αὐτῶν" το»ῦ» σπουδαίου περιβαλλομένου ἀπὸ τῶν ἔργων τῶν χειρῶν ἑαυτοῦ, ὡς παρρησιαζόμενον καὶ εὐχαριστοῦντα λέγειν· "ἀγαλλιάσεται ἡ ψυχή μου ἐπὶ τῷ κυρίῳ· ἐνέδυσεν γάρ με ἱμάτιον σωτηρίου·" ὅπερ ἱμάτιον προστάττει Παῦλος ἐνδύεσθαι λέγων· "ἐνδύσασθε σπλάγχνα οἰκτιρμοῦ" καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. καὶ πάλιν· "ἐνδύσασθε τὸν κύριον Ἰησοῦν Χριστόν." τοῦτο τὸ ἱμάτιον οὐκ ἔστιν ἀράχνη· ἀφθαρσία γάρ ἐστιν καὶ διὰ τοῦτο μένον· τὸ σ δὲ τῶν φαύλων ἀνυπόστατόν ἐστιν· κακία γάρ. διὸ εἴρηται· "ζητηθήσεται ἡ ἁμαρτία αὐτοῦ καὶ οὐ μὴ 223 εὑρεθῇ δι' αὑτήν·" ἀράχνῃ γὰρ ἔοικεν ······ ··· διαλυομένη· διὸ καὶ σκηνήν, ἀλλ' οὐκ οἶκον ἔχει ὡς ὁ τοὺς Ἰησοῦ λόγους φυλάττ̣ων. ἐὰν ἐπερείσῃ τὴν οἰκίαν αὐτοῦ, οὐ μὴ στῇ. ο῾̣ ἀσεβὴς̣ γοῦν· ὃς δ' ἂν κομψείᾳ καὶ πιθανότητι μὴ ἀγαθῇ συνιστᾷ τὰ οἰκία ἀπάτης, οὗτος ὑπὸ τῆς ἀληθείας ἐλεγχόμενος οὐ μὴ στῃ῀̣, ὡς μηδὲ στάσιν δύνασθαι ἔχειν αὐτοῦ τὴν ἀπάτην. ἐπι̣λαμβανομένου δὲ αὐτοῦ οὐ μὴ ὑπομείνῃ. ῥᾷστα γὰρ ἡ τῶν φαύλων ἐπίνοια σκηνὴ ὀνομαζομένη καταπίπτουσα εὐάλωτός ἐστιν οὕτως, ὡς μηδὲ δοκεῖν γεγονέναι ποτέ. ὑγρὸς γάρ ἐστιν ὑπὸ ἡλίου, καὶ ἐκ σαπρίας αὐτοῦ ὁ ῥάδαμνος αὐτοῦ ἐξελεύσεται. ὑποτίθεται χαῦνόν τινα εἶναι τὸν βίον τοῦ ἀσεβοῦς ὡς ὑπὸ θέρμης βραχείας διαλυόμενον. οὐ ξενιστέον δέ, εἰ "ὑγρὸς ὑπὸ ἡλίου" λέγεται εἶναι· ἔστιν γάρ, ἃ διαλύεται ὑπὸ ἡλίου ὡς κηρός, ἐπεὶ καὶ ὑπὸ πυρός. οὕτως οὖν ἔσται ὁ ἀσεβής. εἴρηται γάρ· "ὡς τήκεται κηρὸς ἀπὸ προσώπου πυρός, οὕτως ἀπόλοιντο οἱ ἁμαρτωλοὶ ἀπὸ προσώπου τοῦ θεοῦ." διυγραινόμενος δὲ ὑπὸ "ἡλίου"-οὐ τοῦ "τῆς δικαιοσύνης", ἀλλ' ἐκείνου, περὶ οὗ λέγεται· "ἡμέρας ὁ ἥλιος οὐ συνκαύσει σε"- ῥάδαμνον ἐξάγει ἐκ κακίας καὶ σαπρίας βλαστῶντα "ὑπ' ἐκείνην" γινόμενος "τὴν φυτείαν, ἣν ὁ πατὴρ οὐκ ἐφύτευσεν, 224 ἥτις καὶ ἐκριζωθήσεται." ἐπὶ συναγωγὴν λίθων κοιμᾶται, ἐν δὲ μέσῳ χαλίκων ζήσεται. τοῦτο λέγει, ὅτι ὁ ἀσεβὴς ἀντίθεος εἶναι καὶ ἀντι´̣χριστος εἶναι βούλεται. ὁ μὲν γὰρ θεὸς ἐν ναῷ καὶ Χριστὸς οἰκεῖ κατὰ τὸ εἰρημένον· "οὐκ οἴδατε, ὅτι ναὸς θεοῦ ἐστε καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦ θεοῦ οἰκεῖ ἐν ὑμῖν;" καὶ πάλιν λέγεται· "ἐάν τις ἀγαπᾷ με, ἐλευσόμεθα ἐγὼ καὶ ὁ πατὴρ καὶ μονὴν παρ' αὐτῷ ποιησόμεθα·" "Χριστοῦ γὰρ οἶκός ἐσμεν ἡμεῖς, ἐὰν τὴν παρρησίαν καὶ τὸ καύχημα μέχρι τέλους βεβαίαν κατάσχωμεν." οἶκος δέ ἐστιν λίθων σύνθεσις κατὰ τέχνην πρὸς ἑτέροις ἕνωσιν ἔχων· τοιοῦτον δὲ ἡ ἀρετὴ καὶ ἡ ἁγνότης καὶ αὐτὴ ἡ μετουσία τοῦ ἑνός. ἐσκορπισμένον δέ τί ἐστιν ἡ συναγωγὴ τῶν λίθων καὶ ἡ μίξις τῶν χαλίκων, παραπλησίον τῇ κακίᾳ τῇ μὴ ἐχούσῃ ἕνωσιν, ἀλλ' ἀταξίαν. ὁ ἀσεβὴς οὖν ἅπασαν τὴν διαγωγὴν ἐν οἴκῳ κακίας ἔχει διαλελυμένος κατὰ τοὺς ἔξω οἰκοδομῆς λίθους, οἳ οὐχ ἁρμόζουσιν "τῇ οἰκοδομῇ τοῦ πύργου" κατὰ τὸν Ποιμένα. ἐὰν καταπίῃ, ὁ τόπος ψεύσεται αὐτόν. εἰ καὶ τὰ τού_6_τ_ο_υ6 ῥήματα, ὅσα ἐντρεχῆ ὑπάρχει, ὑπάγωμεν διανοίαις, ὧν εἰσι πλησίον αἱ ὑπὸ σπουδαίων εἰρημέναι, οὐ δεῖ ξενίζεσθαι. εἶπεν γάρ· "ἐπερώτησον γενεὰν πρώτην, ἐξιχνίασον δὲ κατὰ γένος πατέρων", 225 ὡς καὶ αὐτὸς ἀπ' αὐτῶν μαθών· καὶ μὴ διόλου σώζει τοὺς λογισμοὺς διὰ τὸ μὴ οἴεσθαι, εἰ μὴ δι' ἁμαρτίας, μὴ περιπίπτειν ἀνιαροῖς τινα. τὸ "καταπίῃ" οὖν πολλάκις ἐπὶ νίκης ἐν τῇ γραφῇ λαμβάνεται ὡς τό· "κατεπόθη Ἰσδραήλ, ἐγένετο ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ὡς σκεῦος ἄχρηστον," τουτέστι νενίκηται. καὶ πάλιν· "ἐν τῷ ἐπαναστῆναι ἀνθρώπους ἐφ' ἡμᾶς, ἆρα ζῶντας ἂν κατέπιον ἡμᾶς;" καὶ πάλιν· "ἵνα καταποθῇ τὸ θνητὸν ὑπὸ τῆς ζωῆς." λέγεται οὖν καὶ περὶ τῶν σοφιστῶν καὶ τῶν πρεσβευόντων τὰς "σοφίας τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου" καὶ τῶν "ἀρχόντων αὐτοῦ"· "κατεπόθησαν ἐχόμενα πέτρας οἱ κραταιοὶ αὐτῶν·" ποίας δὴ πέτρας ἢ τοῦ Χριστοῦ; "ἡ γὰρ πέτρα ἦν ὁ Χριστός." οὕτω καὶ "ἡ ῥάβδος Ἀαρὼν τὰς ῥάβδους τῶν ἐπαοιδῶν τῶν Αἰγυπτίων κατέπιεν", συμβολικῶς δεικνυμένου, ὅτι "τὰς ψευδωνύμους